Baltimore Traffic Costs You $1100 and 47 Lost Hours Per Year

I hope you’ve already made your commute by the time you read this post–because if you haven’t, you might be tempted to just stay home.

According to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Annual Mobility Survey, Maryland has the worst traffic in the entire country. Much of that is the fault of the Washington, DC area — but commuting around Baltimore is no walk in the park, either. Baltimore traffic costs commuters an extra 21 gallons of fuel per year and $1,115 in extra costs. That may not sound that bad — but it also adds up to 47 hours per year spent in traffic. That’s not time spent driving to work, mind you — it’s just the minutes you spend sitting in gridlock, going nowhere. That makes Baltimore the 7th-worst city of its size for commuters.

If those figures make you think twice about jumping in your car this morning, may we suggest taking a free bus, bike, or commuter train instead?